5 comments:

Two points to make. One is that Maurice will be fired by no need to do it now. Two, who would you send out at the end of the game? The only good defensive player on the team is Toskala and he was already on the ice. Let's face it this is one of the softest teams in the league. If you need to whine maybe the Habs radio guy will talk to you.

Even me at Leafstown has to agree with you. The problem came the shift before, all game long Maurice was doing a great job in keeping the Sundin line away from Madden, meaning it keep the Stajan, Blake , Tucker line away from the Devils big line. As soon as the game was tied the plan stopped, and Maurice was unprepared for the push that even you mother-in law knew was comming. Unprepared and overwhelmed, its the Paul Maurice coaching story. He should have never been hired so early, and he should have been fired before we even saw 2008, it just another example of the bush league ownership who are running this team into the groud.

This is a tough question for me to answer because I genuinely like Paul Maurice. I don't doubt his commitment to the team and he clearly understands the difficulties of coaching in Toronto, and is able to handle them admirably. His post-game pressers make for great watching, especially after years of Quinn's outright hatred for fans and the media.

However, this season has cemented the fact that the Leafs will not become a winning team so long as he is the coach. The Leafs' lineup is weak and soft, to be sure, but other coaches elsewhere have done better with weaker rosters. I agree that it makes no sense to change coaches at this point in the season, but one of the first tasks for the new GM should be to fire Maurice and select his replacement. It's one thing to be loyal to your players and give them a chance to prove that they can be successful in any given situation, but there is no excuse for Maurice's blind faith, or gross incompetence, in using Blake and Tucker time and time again in situations that they simply cannot handle.

In the end, what is probably the most damning evidence against Maurice? He was JFJ's handpicked successor to Quinn. That really does say everything about his ability to do the job.

So, I say fire Maurice. I hope he gets a job on LeafsTV or TSN, though, because I do enjoy his insights into the game.

Pseudonym - Toskala may be the only good defensive player on the team, but that doesn't excuse poor decision making from the Leafs bench boss.

What were the options?

The Sundin, Steen, Antropov line rolled out for about 45 seconds around the 17 minute mark. Their change on the fly left Maurice with Stajan, Poni, Moore, Blake, Tucker, Wellwood, Williams, Newbury and Tlusty to chose from.

I'd rather see any combination of Stajan, Poni, Moore and Tlusty than the career minus duo of Tucker and Blake.

Why not send out 2 centres in case the Leafs ice it, can't change and have to win a faceoff deep in their zone?

But, history and forethought be damned, the Leafs rolled out 16-14-55 and were burned for it.

It's only the fourth time it's happened this season, so I can completely understand why my entry looks like whinging...